Behind the First Collection: South Africa
My first collection had to begin with South Africa. Last summer, my dad and I spent two weeks exploring the country, starting in Cape Town, moving through the winelands, and ending on safari in Sabi Sands. As incredible as every part of the trip was, I would be lying if I said I was not counting down to safari from the moment we landed. It was my first one, and I had built it up in my head for months.
Before we arrived, I had one answer ready every time our guide asked what I wanted to see: cheetah. He quickly reminded me that cheetahs are incredibly rare there, so after a little reality check, my official answer became leopard. Still, every morning at breakfast I would start with “cheetah, duh,” and he would laugh before asking again for my serious answer.
The very first evening drive started almost the moment we arrived. We barely made it out in time, and neither of us really knew what to expect. Within a few hours we had already seen giraffes, buffalo, and elephants, which already felt surreal enough for day one. Then, just as it was getting dark and everyone assumed we were heading back for dinner, the guides heard there had been a leopard sighting nearby.
It was almost completely dark by then. The only light came from the guide slowly sweeping a spotlight through the trees and across the road. For a while, it felt like nothing was there. Then suddenly, a leopard stepped directly into the road in front of us.
The rest of the vehicles had already gone back, so for a few minutes it felt like we had the entire bush to ourselves, following this leopard in near silence. Photographing it was another story. It was so dark that I was lowering my shutter speed as much as I could and balancing my camera on the side of the vehicle trying not to shake. The photos were not perfect, but the moment itself was unforgettable. That was the drive where I realized the next few days were going to be even better than I had hoped.
What surprised me most was how quickly my attention shifted beyond the animals I thought I cared most about. I arrived excited about the Big Five, but by the second day I was constantly asking to pause for birds, especially the Lilac-breasted roller. The first time I photographed one, it was perched far away and I mostly wanted to test the rented zoom lens. It was only afterward, looking through the frame, that I saw just how unreal the colors were. After that, I started spotting them everywhere and asking the car to stop whenever one appeared.
One of the easiest images in the collection came from that bird. It sat perfectly still on top of a tree, high enough that the background disappeared completely, which made the colors stand out even more. Sometimes wildlife photography gives you a gift like that.
The hardest images were definitely the leopards. They blend into everything, and even when one is spotted, there is usually a cluster of vehicles trying to find the best angle. Most of the time they were moving, often hunting, and never staying still for long. You have to stay ready because once the moment happens, it is usually over quickly.
The one image I wanted and never got was a baby hyena. We found them at night, playing together, and it would have been such a great photograph, but I could not hold the camera steady enough at the shutter speed I needed. Sometimes the miss stays with you almost as much as the images you keep.
One moment I still laugh about had nothing to do with a game drive. My dad and I were trying to keep our gym routine while we were there, and the gym looked out over a watering hole. Mid-workout, an elephant appeared out of nowhere for a drink. Then another. Then another. Within minutes an entire family had gathered right outside the window. It was incredible until we finished and realized we could not actually leave. We called the front desk, who advised us to stay exactly where we were. A manager came out to monitor the situation and even he could not get close enough to help for a while. Eventually the elephants moved on and we made it to lunch, but it was definitely the most memorable gym session I have ever had.
The rarest sighting of the trip came after one of the bumpiest drives I have ever been on. We had been out for hours without much luck when a leopard call came over the radio, so everyone agreed to skip the coffee break and keep searching. After a long stretch of rough off-roading and circling the same area, we stopped to look at something in the distance. Then our driver suddenly said, “Oh my god, a cheetah.”
It was lying under a tree maybe four feet from the vehicle.
I was completely shocked. They are incredibly rare in Sabi Sands, and somehow it had been right there the whole time. A few seconds later it got up and ran, unbelievably fast, and we spent the next half hour finding it, losing it, and finding it again as it disappeared into the landscape. I only got one decent image, but seeing it at all felt like winning.
Safari photography taught me patience in a different way than any other kind of travel photography. Sometimes you are out for hours and come back without the image you wanted. Sometimes the best lesson is learning to keep looking anyway. On quieter drives, I started photographing trees, water, and open space just to experiment with framing and technique while waiting.
That waiting changes the way you see everything.
For me, a wildlife image becomes worth printing when it holds both beauty and rarity. Many of the animals in this first collection are increasingly difficult to encounter in the wild, whether because of shrinking populations, habitat pressure, or how naturally elusive they are. Printing them allows those moments to live somewhere unexpected, without taking anything away from where they belong.
That is why this collection begins here. These are some of my favorite images I have made, and sharing them feels like the right way to begin Studio Ott.
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